L'Oasis perdue 2 (Miklo)/plot
Biggles turns to see someone covering him with a pistol. Erich von Stalhein! Biggles thought he was dead but von Stalhein says he has an arrangement with fate. Biggles, Bertie and Kamal are taken to the German camp. On the way, they pass a Heinkel He 111. Biggles has never seen this type before, but to both him and Bertie, an aircraft gives them ideas. Ottmar Strupler, the German diplomat, is also at the camp. He legitimises the German presence at the temple by saying that Heike has a licence to excavate and she had merely asked for their help. As for what they are searching for, Heike explains that they want the "secret of life and death". Just then, a soldier rushes in shouting, "The dead men!" Von Stalhein orders Biggles and his friends as well as all the Egyptian workers to be locked up in the cells which the Germans take up battle stations. Biggles is puzzled as to what unknown enemy is attacking the Germans and asks Kamal to talk to the Egyptian workers. They say that they have felt an evil presence at the temple since they started excavations. Then mysterious creatures, the "living dead" similar to the mummified character they had earlier encountered, began attacking the camp and causing some deaths. Strupler and Heike want to leave but von Stalhein refuses to give up. Two mummified men approach the cell and are shot by a German guard. Another mummy creeps up behind him and stabs him. A second guard comes in and is also killed. Biggles examines the scene. Whoever these mummies are, they bleed. The outlook is not so bad, says Biggles. There is a plane, the Germans are divided and being attacked by an unknown enemy. They can take advantage of all this. The next morning, the Germans order the prisoners to load up the plane. Biggles welcomes this opportunity to examine the aircraft close up. Inside, he sneaks into the cockpit. Strupler is there! He tells Biggles that he and Heike want to leave but the pilot is dead. Only von Stalhein knows how to fly. Perhaps Biggles can help? He asks Biggles to think it over. Kamal brings Biggles to a quiet section of the temple where he has found a wounded mummy. He speaks some kind of strange language. Heike turns up and confirms that she has scrolls with many different languages in the temple. What does she want, Biggles asks. First she is curious. How did Biggles get to know von Stalhein? Biggles tells her it's an old story going back to World War 1. He is, Biggles says, responsible for the death of the woman he loved. Heike is surprised that there's room for a woman in Biggles' life. Back to the present, she has a plan to escape using the plane. There's a caravan waiting at the edge of the massif but that is too dangerous. They have to go, she says, at the first opportunity, perhaps that very night. Kamal is filling a water bottle for the wounded mummy when von Stalhein takes him away. Von Ettal wants to resume questioning him, he says. Later, a guard summons Biggles and Bertie to German headquarters tent. Kamal has been made to talk as has that wounded mummy. Von Stalhein is delighted with the progress made, especially about some underground kingdom of a god who fell from the sky. He is impatient to see the papyrus scrolls in the necropolis and decides to go immediately, taking Kamal and an a guard with him. Von Ettal is left in charge of the others at the tent. He tells Strupfler there is a score to settle and accuses the diplomat of consipiring with Biggles to escape from the camp. Heike tries to plead with the SS officer--he could be rich if he left now with them. Von Ettal doesn't listen and draws his pistol and kills Strupfler. There are loud moans outside. The mummies are attacking again! The wounded mummy had earlier told them they are called the Askar Mota, the army of the dead. They surround von Ettal and his guards and a fierce battle ensues. Biggles and Bertie take advantage of the confusion to escape. Meanwhile, von Stalhein and Kamal examine the papyrus scrolls in the necropolis. They tell of an immortal ruler who gives the neverending water of life to men. The water is in the caves under the temple, a zone forbidden to all, even priests. But von Stalhein isn't easily deterred. He packs all the papyrus scrolls and plans to move on. Kamal had told von Stalhein the path leads to a cavern which opens on the other side of the massif, so the German doesn't need him anymore. He draws a pistol and shoots Kamal. Outside, Biggles and Bertie have made their way to the Heinkel. Biggles starts the engines. But von Ettal has also managed to breakaway and escape. He enters the cockpit and, using brute strength, throws him out of the plane. Delighted with his success, von Ettal takes off, gleeful that the cargo would make him rich. But he is not alone. An Askar Mota has also climbed onboard and he stabs von Ettal, wounding him mortally. Outside, Bertie and Biggles watch, surprised, that von Ettal can pilot a plane after all. Then they flee in alarm as the dying pilot crashes the plane which explodes near them. No more Heinkel to use for escape, but Biggles says maybe they can try to find the caravan Heike talked about. The temple is a scene of carnage. Lots of German troops and Aska Mota lie dead but at least Bertie and Biggles can pick up some weapons. They are suddenly surrounded by more Askar Mota. It looks bad but then a voice shouts for the Askar Mota to stop. A strange bearded man with cloak and staff appears. He wants to know what Biggles and Bertie are doing among the Germans. Biggles explains that they are prisoners. The old man introduces himself as Nigel Waddington, the Australian pilot whose Anson they had found on the other side of the mountain. Waddington tells them the Askar Mota are distant descendants of Akhnaton's army. They lived underground among the dead for so long that they had adopted the appearance of the mummies. They had an abnormally long lifespan, partly due to the "water of life" which they draw from beneath the temple. The Askar Mota treat Waddington as a god since he had fallen from the sky, but for all that, he was closely watched and still a prisoner. Does Biggles have a plan for escape? Biggles has an idea but he will need Waddington's help. Waddington agrees, although it sounds mad and says it has to be tonight or never. As the sun goes down, Biggles and Bertie escape from their Askar Mota guard and meet up with Waddington. With him is a faithful Askar Mota servant named Recha and a camel with three barrels of petrol. He leads them to some underground caves. To get to the other side of the mountain, they will have to cross the forbidden sanctum, the den of the "Immortal Master". It's a strange place, full of mysterious symbols, some pre-Egyptian. Then they also find a man--it's the body of Kamal. Obviously he had been shot by von Stalhein and had wandered around inside and then died of exhaustion. Rescha shouts a warning. The Askar Mota are in pursuit! Rescha is speared in the chase but the rest punch deeper into the sanctum. Biggles and Bertie fire a few shots to keep the pursuers at bay but after a while, Waddington tells them they can stop. They have entered the den of the "Immortal Master". As far as the Askar Mota are concerned, they are as good as dead. The sanctum has a statue or body of a huge monster bug-like creature--the "Immortal Master". But nobody wants to stop to study it. Going down a causeway, Bertie slips into the water on one side. An enormous crocodile rises out and almost manages to grab Bertie but is suddenly killed by an accurate rifle shot through its head. From where did the shot come? It's Heike! After this, she says. surely they can't refuse to take her along with them? Biggles agrees, but first they have to get out of the labyrinth. Heike has the answer to that. Since her escape, she has had time to explore the place and soon leads them to an opening in the rocks. Beyond is the open desert on the other side of the mountains. They reach the wrecked Anson where Biggles detaches a propellor which is then attached to their Dragon Rapide. The drums of petrol are also poured into the tanks. They spend their last night in the desert, ready for departure the next morning. Biggles awakes the next morning to find Waddington pointing a rifle at him. He doesn't want the world to know about the oasis. It would mean the end of the people living there. Biggles agrees to keep the secret. Likewise, Heike gives her word. That being agreed, they take off in the Dragon Rapide and head for the nearest oasis. Along the way, the pass a caravan--probably the one that had been waiting for the Germans. There isn't quite enough fuel to reach the oasis at Abou Ballas, and they have to walk some of the way. Another surprise awaits them there: crates and crates of German weapons. Around some palms Heike spots a plane. It's another Dragon Rapide! "Hands up, please...." goes a familiar voice. It's Algy and Ginger! Back at Cairo, Biggles and co. are commended by the governor. With the discovery of the arms cache at Abou Ballas, and the massacre of the German expedition by a Sudanese tribe (so Biggles reported), the government had been able to confront the German embassy and expel a few diplomats. Outside, Biggles tells them the rest of the news. Waddington had chosen another identity to spare his family the news of his "resurrection". Heike is among the diplomats being expelled and Biggles wants to say goodbye to her at the airport. Heike greets Biggles just as she is about to board the Ju-52 back to Germany. She is happy to see him. The time they spent together in the desert "was intense", she says. Biggles reminds her of her promise. On board the plane is ... von Stalhein! He is now Mr Schulz, a dealer in antiquities. His caravan had brought him back some days ago. He has the scrolls of papyrus and some "water of life". Heike tells him she has given her word to say nothing about the oasis. Von Stalhein agrees. The secret is too good for Hitler. They can do much better. Category:Plot summaries (derivative works)